璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第168章

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‘Cas　and　I　go　back　a　ways；‘　Maxwell　observed；　handling　the　introductions。　‘I　got　fifteen‘　…　he　pointed　to　the　aircraft　panel　hanging　on　the　wall　…　‘Cas　got　eighteen。‘
‘All　on　film；　too；‘　Podulski　assured　him。
‘I　didn‘t　get　any；‘　Greer　said；　‘but　I　didn‘t　let　the　oxygen　rot　my　brain　either。‘　In　addition　to　wearing　soft　clothes；　this　admiral　had　the　map　case。　He　took　one　out；　the　same　panel　he　had　back　at　his　home；　but　more　marked　up。　Then　came　the　photographs；　and　Kelly　got　another　look　at　the　face　of　Colonel　Zacharias；　this　time　enhanced　somehow　or　other；　and　recognizably　similar　to　the　ID　photo　Greer　put　next　to　it。
‘I　was　within　three　miles　of　the　place；‘　Kelly　noted。　‘Nobody　ever　told　me　about　…‘
‘It　wasn‘t　there　yet。　This　place　is　new；　less　than　two　years　old；‘　Greer　explained。
‘Any　more　pictures；　James？‘　Maxwell　asked。
‘Just　some　SR…71　overheads；　high…obliques；　nothing　new　in　them。　I　have　a　guy　checking　every　frame　of　this　place；　a　good　guy；　ex…Air　Force。　He　reports　to　me　only。‘
‘You‘re　going　to　be　a　good　spy；‘　Podulski　noted　with　a　chuckle。
‘They　need　me　there；‘　Greer　replied　in　a　lighthearted　voice　bordered　with　serious　meaning。　Kelly　just　looked　at　the　other　three。　The　banter　wasn‘t　unlike　that　in　a　chief‘s　mess；　but　the　language　was　cleaner。　He　looked。　over　at　Kelly　again。　‘Tell　me　about　the　valley。‘
‘A　good　place　to　stay　away　from。‘
‘First；　tell　me　how　you　got　little　Dutch　back。　Every　step　of　the　way；‘　Greer　ordered。
Kelly　needed　fifteen　minutes　for　that；　from　the　time　he　left　USS　Skate　to　the　moment　the　helicopter　had　lifted　him　and　Lieutenant　Maxwell　from　the　river‘s　estuary　for　the　flight　to　Kitty　Hawk。　It　was　an　easy　story　to　tell。　What　surprised　him　were　the　looks　the　admirals　passed　back　and　forth。
Kelly　wasn‘t　equipped　to　understand　the　looks　yet。　He　didn‘t　really　think　of　the　admirals　as　old　or　even　as　totally　human。　They　were　admirals；　godlike；　ageless　beings　who　made　important　decisions　and　looked　as　they　should　look；　even　the　one　out　of　uniform。　Nor　did　Kelly　think　of　himself　as　young。　He‘d　seen　bat；　after　which　every　man　is　forever　changed。　But　their　perspective　was　different。　To　Maxwell；　Podulski；　and　Greer；　this　young　man　was　not　terribly　unlike　what　they　had　been　thirty　years　earlier。　It　was　instantly　clear　that　Kelly　was　a　warrior；　and　in　seeing　him　they　saw　themselves。　The　furtive　looks　they　traded　were　not　unlike　those　of　a　grandfather　watching　his　grandson　take　his　first　tentative　step　on　the　living…room　rug。　But　these　were　larger　and　more　serious　steps。
‘That　was　some　job；‘　Greer　said　when　Kelly　finished。　‘So　this　area　is　densely　populated？‘
‘Yes　and　no；　sir。　I　mean；　it‘s　not　a　city　or　like　that；　but　some　farms　and　stuff。　I　heard　and　saw　traffic　on　this　road。　Only　a　few　trucks；　but　lots　of　bicycles；　oxcarts；　that　sort　of　thing。‘
‘Not　much　military　traffic？‘　Podulski　asked。
‘Admiral；　that　stuff　would　be　on　this　road　here。‘　Kelly　tapped　the　map。　He　saw　the　notations　for　the　NVA　units。　‘How　are　you　planning　to　get　in　here？‘
‘There‘s　nothing　easy；　John。　We‘ve　looked　at　a　helicopter　insertion；　maybe　even　trying　an　amphibious　assault　and　racing　up　this　road。‘
Kelly　shook　his　head。　‘Too　far。　That　road　is　too　easy　to　defend。　Gentlemen；　you　have　to　understand；　Vietnam　is　a　real　nation　in　arms；　okay？　Practically　everybody　there　has　been　in　uniform；　and　giving　people　guns　makes　them　feel　like　part　of　the　team。　There　are　enough　people　with　guns　there　to　give　you　a　real　pain　ing　up　this　way。　You‘d　never　make　it。‘
‘The　people　really　support　the　munist　government？‘　Podulski　asked。　It　was　just　too　much　for　him　to　believe。　But　not　for　Kelly；
‘Jesus；　Admiral；　why　do　you　think　we‘ve　been　fighting　there　so　long？　Why　do　you　think　nobody　helps　pilots　who　get　shot　down？　They‘re　not　like　us　over　there。　That‘s　something　we‘ve　never　understood。　Anyway；　if　you　put　Marines　on　the　beach；　nobody‘s　going　to　wele　them。　Forget　racing　up　this　road；　sir。　I‘ve　been　there。　It　ain‘t　much　of　a　road；　not　even　as　good　as　it　looks　on　these　pictures。　Drop　a　few　trees　and　it‘s　closed。‘　Kelly　looked　up。　‘Has　to　be　choppers。‘
He　could　see　the　news　was　not　wele；　and　it　wasn‘t　hard　to　understand　why。　This　part　of　the　country　was　dotted　with　antiaircraft　batteries。　Getting　a　strike　force　in　wasn‘t　going　to　be　easy。　At　least　two　of　these　men　were　pilots；　and　if　a　ground　assault　had　looked　promising　to　them；　then　the　triple…A　problem　must　have　been　worse　than　Kelly　appreciated。
‘We　can　suppress　the　flak；‘　Maxwell　thought。
‘You‘re　not　talking　about　…52s　again；　are　you？‘　Greer　asked。
‘Newport　News　goes　back　on　the　gunline　in　a　few　weeks。　John；　ever　see　her　shoot？‘
Kelly　nodded。　‘Sure　did。　She　supported　us　twice　when　we　were　working　close　to　the　coast。　It‘s　impressive　what　those　eight…inchers　can　do。　Sir；　the　problem　is；　how　many　things　do　you　need　to　go　right　for　the　mission　to　succeed？　The　more　plicated　things　get；　the　easier　it　is　for　things　to　go　wrong；　and　even　one　thing　can　be　real　plicated。‘　Kelly　leaned　back　on　the　couch；　and　reminded　himself　that　what　he　had　just　said　wasn‘t　only　for　the　admirals　to　consider。
‘Dutch；　we　have　a　meeting　in　five　minutes；‘　Podulski　said　reluctantly。　This　meeting　had　not　been　a　successful　one；　he　thought。　Greer　and　Maxwell　weren‘t　so　sure　of　that。　They　had　learned　a　few　things。　That　counted　for　something。
‘Can　I　ask　why　you‘re　keeping　this　so　tight？‘　Kelly　asked。
‘You　guessed　it　before。‘　Maxwell　looked　over　at　the　junior　flag　officer　and　nodded。
‘The　Song　Tay　job　was　promised；‘　Greer　said。　‘We　don‘t　know　how；　but　we　found　out　later　through　one　of　our　sources　that　they　knew　…　at　least　suspected　…　something　was　ing。　They　expected　it　later；　and　we　ended　up　hitting　the　place　right　after　they　evacuated　the　prisoners；　but　before　they　had　their　ambush　set　up。　Good　luck；　bad　luck。　They　didn‘t　expect　Operation　KINGPIN　for　another　month。‘
‘Dear　God；‘　Kelly　breathed。　‘Somebody　over　here　deliberately　betrayed　them？‘
‘Wele　to　the　real　world　of　intelligence　operations；　Chief；‘　Greer　said　with　a　grim　smile。
‘But　why？‘
‘If　I　ever　meet　the　gentleman；　I　will　be　sure　to　ask。‘　Greer　looked　at　the　others。　‘That‘s　a　good　hook　for　us　to　use。　Check　the　records　of　the　operation；　real　low…key　like？‘
‘Where　are　they？‘
‘Eglin　Air　Force　base；　where　the　KINGPIN　people　trained。‘
‘Whom　do　we　send？‘　Podulski　asked。
Kelly　could　feel　the　eyes　turn　in　his　direction。　‘Gentlemen；　I　was　just　a　chief；　remember？‘
‘Mr　Kelly；　where‘s　your　car　parked？‘
‘In　the　city；　sir。　I　took　the　bus　over　here。‘
‘e　with　me。　There‘s　a　shuttle　bus　you　can　take　back　later。‘
They　walked　out　of　the　building　in　silence。　Greer‘s　car；　a　Mercury；　was　parked　in　a　visitor　slot　by　the　river　entrance。　He　waved　for　Kelly　to　get　in　and　headed　towards　the　George　Washington　Parkway。
‘Dutch　pulled　your　package。　I　got　to　read　it。　I‘m　impressed；　son。‘　What　Greer　didn‘t　say　was　that　on　his　battery　of　enlistment　tests；　Kelly　had　scored　an　average　of　147　on　three　separately　formatted　IQ　tests。　‘Every　mander　you　had　sang　your　praises。‘
‘I　worked　for　some　good　ones；　sir。‘
‘So　it　appears；　and　three　of　them　tried　to　get　you　into　OCS；　but　Dutch　asked　you　about　that。　I　also　want　to　know　why　you　didn‘t　take　the　college　scholarship。‘
‘I　was　tired　of　schools。。　And　the　scholarship　was　for　swimming。　Admiral。‘
‘That‘s　a　big　deal　at　Indiana；　I　know；　but　your　marks　were　plenty　good　enough　to　get　an　academic　scholarship。　You　attended　a　pretty　nice　prep　school　…‘
‘That　was　a　scholarship；　too。‘　Kelly　shrugged。　‘Nobody　in　my　family　ever　went　to　college。　Dad　served　a　hitch　in　the　Navy　during　the　war。　I　guess　it　just　seemed　like　something　to　do。‘　That　it　had　been　a　major　disappointment　to　his　father　was　something　he‘d　never　told　anyone。
Greer　pondered　that。　It　still　didn‘t　answer　things。　‘The　last　ship　I　manded　was　a　submarine；　Daniel　Webster。　My　chief　of　the　boat；　senior　chief　sonarman；　the　guy　had　a　doctorate　in　physics。　Good　man；　knew　his　job　better　then　I　knew　mine；　but　not　a　leader；　shied　away　from　it　some。　You　didn‘t；　Kelly。　You　tried　to；　but　you　didn‘t。‘
‘Look；　sir；　when　you‘re　out　there　and　things　happen；　s